Exploding into a new age with fun and fireworks

FIREWORKS crackled, the sound of bells, hymns and cheers rose to the heavens and teen-agers danced in the streets as Surrey enjoyed an exuberant passage into a new Millennium last Friday. Despite an eerie quiet in town centres in the hours leading up to midnight, celebrations erupted across the region as the clock struck 12 to signal the beginning of the 21st century.

In Guildford, thousands left pubs, clubs, homes and parties to gather beneath the Guildhall clock for the traditional new year greeting.

Sadly a club night for teenagers at the Guildford Civic was cancelled at the last minute, but the party-goers made up for their disappointment by dancing in the High Street until 1am. The congregations of several churches met in Godalming for a procession to the town's parish church, where a Millennium candle was lit by the town mayor and worshippers sang the Lord's Prayer to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. Meanwhile, hundreds of merry-makers celebrated around the Pepperpot at the other end of the street. Young revellers in Cranleigh donned fancy dress for a knees-up in Stocklund Square. And everywhere there were fireworks.

Dorking and its villages alone hosted four displays. There were others in Guildford and Puttenham and countless Surrey gardens. For an hour or more the skies across the county were aflame with streams of vivid colour. From White Hill in Effingham, the starbursts could be seen for miles, providing the enduring image of the arrival of the new Millennium. There were new arrivals, too, in the county's hospitals.

One baby timed its emergence to coincide with the birth of a new epoch at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, three at the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill. But, above all, there was good-humour, goodwill and restraint. In the build-up there were fears of public disorder, contingency plans and security checks; but, finally, New Year's Eve 1999 was an evening to remember.